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Enrico Fermi, Physicist

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This is the best researched biography of the great Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, the last universalist in physics, in what concerns science and education. For the private life of the great man and for the less formal aspects of his life, the best book is "Atoms in Family", by his wife, Laura Fermi. Both are remarkable books. The book by Segre, who himself won the Nobel prize for the first observation of the anti-proton, besides being very well written, has some features of his own. First, there is, in an appendix, a series of letters exchanged between Fermi and Persico, another distinguished physicist, of about the same age, which talk mainly of education:which book to use for thermodynamics (Planck), how to study, progresses in some researches, etc. Second, an interview with a friend of Fermi's father, the engineer Amidei, who had a great influence on the education of teenager Fermi, by lending him books he assumed would be important for his future. Among t! hese books is the Mecanique (mechanics) of Poisson, which remained impressed in Fermi's memory forever. The list of these books, with the dates when they were taken and given back, is there. Fermi's style, the simplicity that comes from deep knowledge, is exemplified in many occasions. Perhaps the best story is that of the malfunctioning of Compton's watch; or the first measurement of the power of the first nuclear explosion, made by Fermi by measurind the displacement caused by the shock wave on little scraps of paper released when the first light from the explosion arrived. I read this book at least ten times. I know I will read it again many times.

This is an interesting biography for it is written by a friend with same interests and loyalty to each other. No jealosy, no envie but appreciation and loyalty how nice. This is the story of Fermi mostly about his intellectual and social life and not about his private life and that part is in fact covered very nicely by his wife in her beautiful book. Segre without any short cuts describe Fermi, his behaior, his mastery in physics with all important documents reproduced and day by day their successes and few dissappointments. There are certain scientific explanations about the experiments they conducted days in and days out and if you are not into Atomic physics those explanations are just words but even if you do not know what they are doing you still get the pleasure of visualising masters in action. descriptions are very vivid. Hard work is necessary but knowing what you are doing is more important and this book along with the biographies of other master Physisist shows the same. Prof Serge is exteremely good in writing biography, you do not get bored while reading the book. All the surroundings, social and political world conditions are clearly described, showing the conditions these people had to go through and yet was exteremely productive.

Overall, the book "Enrico Fermi Physicist" was very informative and interesting. The long time friend and first graduate of Fermi, Mr. Emilo Segre, stood by Fermi's side for many years. Mr. Serge also wrote the book, and was able to do so in a very all-inclusive manner. Not only does the book teach us everything that Fermi's has accomplished through his long and illustrious career as a physicist, but it also shows us a very human side of this brilliant mind. There are stories about Enrico's childhood dispersed intermittently throughout the book, so we can look at Fermi as a regular person, rather than as a series of brilliant mathematical laws and experiments. Due to the chronological design of the book, we see Enrico grow from a young and furtive mind, with an unrestrained sense of enthusiasm for math and science, into an old and wise master of physics.
I think that Emilio Segre was compelled to write his book on Fermi for several reasons. By reading the book it is very clear that Segre has the utmost respect and appreciation for Fermi because when he describes the man it is in a tone of awe. He spends almost a page later on in the book talking about how impressed everyone was by Fermi, and how the man's brilliant mind warranted respect form all who could see him work. I also think that Segre felt some type of duty, almost a responsibility, to share Fermi's story with the rest of the world because he knew he was better qualified for the task than anyone, thanks to his close relationship with Fermi.
By reading this book one learns of Fermi's classical experiments, which would eventually come to yield the atomic pile, and later help foster the construction of the atom bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. There is also a myriad of additional scientific details in the book, depicted in confusing and esoteric jargon. Personally, I think the book could have been more simplistic in the explanations of Fermi's work, instead of spending so much time with detailed information of little significance to the average reader. Overall, the book was engrossing, but excess scientific information gets a bit cumbersome later on in the book.
Science buffs who also like a bit of history and want to learn about a scientist's life should read this story. As far as scientists go, I found Enrico Fermi to be one of the more fascinating scientists to ever live. Through reading the book, Fermi is revealed not only as a scientific and mathematical genius, but also a fun loving kid, who was almost expelled from school for a prank he pulled.

I found this entire work to be well written and very informative on both the more personal life of Enrico Fermi, and on his various accomplishments and work regarding radioactivity and physics. Despite being written from a more personal view, as it was authored by a friend, the book maintains its commtittment to detailing the events in his life, including what influenced him and what he in turn influenced. A fascinating tale of a Nobel Prize Winner who worked on the infamous Manhattan Project, this book lists the many discoveries Fermi came upon and what his work later led to in the discovery of producing the fission needed for reactor and atomic weapons. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in this area of physics, and those interested in the people tied to the Manhattan project. As a scientist, Enrico Fermi was an accomplished individual, and this book is able to bring to light the depth of his character and efforts in his respective field. Written from his friend's perspective, the retelling of his life is very well planned and thought out, and I commend the detail Segre put into its creation. With various interviews and detailed accounts of his life, this book is an invaluable resource for understanding more about the atomic bomb and the people who helped bring it to life. One of the most important things books serves to do is to remind American citizens how lucky they are to have gotten such great physicists and scientists to come support this country and how invaluable they are today, as they gave us a chance for the future.

I've always been fascinated with Fermi's life and knew very little about him. I'm spending too much time reading on present day problems and people complaining about their rights being violated. Time Magazine rated Fermi one of the Top 20 scientists of the 20th century, including Einstein, Salk, Wright Brothers, Hubble and others. Fermi's wife was Jewish so in the late 1930's they left Italy to come to America (real lucky for us). Imagine adding Fermi to the Nazi research and subtracting him from our research. I think we would all be talking German today if Fermi assisted the Nazi's. I am not a scientific person (like the prior reviewer has so expertly depicted)but a realist. After America declared war on Italy, Germany and Japan, Fermi was declared an enemy alien, like many Italian Americans. Fermi's travel was limited and his mail read by the government. Did Fermi leave America, did he ask the Supreme Court to rule if his rights were violated, did he go to the newspapers, no he continued his work to help defeat the Nazi's and Imperial Japan. Imagine Fermi one of the greatest of the 20th century being restricted in his travel. Today, every two bit con artist complains today their human rights are being violated if their back packs are searched. I did not understand any of the scientific writing but the man was remarkable and history has judged him one of the best. Not many people real know his story, unless you are in the scientific community. I'm not sure why, history would be a lot different if Fermi had not come to America. If you do not understand the scientific part read the War Years and Professor at Chicago. With Salk, Einstein, Hubble, Fermi changed the world. Think where we would be today without him. Think about all the great scientist in the last cenury, only 20 picked, Fermi was one of them.

I thought this book was great and did a great job of pacing the reader through Enrico's life, as well as superbly establishing a connection between the reader and Enrico. Emilio Serge did a great job of making it feel like you actually knew Enrico Fermi in real life which made the book that much more engaging and enjoyable. To be honest I found the beginning of the book the most interesting, more specifically Enrico's childhood experiences, influences and how he became interested in physics altogether. After checking multiple online sources, I found the book itself to be one of the most comprehensive sources for information on Fermi, as it includes the entire scope of his accomplishments, dreams, failures and life changing experiences. Written in a very simple yet elegant manner, Serge writes with an embedded loving friendship that still exists despite Enrico's untimely death at the young age of 53. Every page is filled with a seemingly endless number of intriguing facts about Enrico's life, whether it be his troubles and resistances along the way to success or the outcome that occurred after his development of the atomic bomb. Recommended.

The book was filled with many pages of interesting info that I found informative and enjoyable to read as a literature teacher. It was composed with inciteful quotes that can influence the reader. Finally, I would advise anyone interested in reading about a great man like this one should go out and buy this book